"Deep Trouble: The murky world of the deep sea mining industry", 9 December 2020

In a planetary emergency, why would governments open up a new frontier for mining in the ocean and who is pushing them to do so? Scientists warn that deep sea mining could lead to inevitable and irreparable harm in our oceans, including damage to the natural processes that store carbon.

Yet a handful of private companies are leading the charge, heavily influencing the UN regulator and lobbying governments to carve up the international seabed for profit and destruction – and sometimes, remarkably, even speaking on behalf of governments in political negotiations.

Despite serious misgivings about the fundamental viability of the industry, deep sea mining companies claim that giving them access to mine the global oceans would benefit poorer nations and future generations. But by tracking the ownership and beneficiaries of the companies with nearly a third of the exploration contracts, this report raises important questions about who stands to benefit – and who is left at risk – if deep sea mining is allowed to begin.

This Greenpeace International investigation demonstrates how mineral exploration of the deep sea, a global commons, has become monopolised by a small number of corporations headquartered in the Global North, working through subsidiaries, partners and subcontractors in an effort to maintain the illusion that deep sea mining can be a public good. Meanwhile, the few developing nations that are sponsoring these companies’ exploration contracts are exposed to significant liabilities and risk as a result of the opaque and complex corporate structures of their foreign private contractors.